Apple Pie and October Memories

October was truly a lovely month. I don't remember an autumn with prettier foliage. The picture above was taken while driving down my grandpa's driveway. Grandpa lives down a fairly long driveway, tucked back amid the woods. The entire driveway was lined with golden foliage, this picture doesn't do justice to just how beautiful the golden leaves looked in person.

We were able to take a couple of day trips in the month of October. Our favorite was our visit to Letchworth State Park. The trees were just beginning to change color, the weather was pleasantly cool, and it was such a treat to see so many amazing views of God's marvelous creation!

 Letchworth is often referred to the "Grand Canyon of the East". While there we saw the actual home of Mary Jemison, a rustic log cabin. She is buried at Letchworth and they have a monument honoring her, as well as a historical display of her life.

The three waterfalls were truly splendid! Our little girl was absolutely delighted by the waterfalls, as she had never seen a waterfall that large or impressive before.

Not far from Letchworth is Mount Morris, the town where Lamplighter Publishing is located. We were pleased to have the chance to visit Lamplighter and tour their book bindery and recording studio. It was a treat to see how they create the beautiful books in their collection. We were deeply impressed at all the hands-on work that goes into creating each volume.

When the days grow cooler I look forward to baking my favorite Autumnal recipes. Nothing say "fall" like apple pie. I thought I would share my favorite recipe. It is the recipe my mom always made when I was growing up. It is simple, but delicious.

Apple Pie

6-7 cups apples, peeled and sliced

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients. Pour into pie shell. Top with crust or crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

Blend well. Sprinkle over pie evenly.

We didn't have our first frost until nearly the end of October. It gave us ample time to enjoy the flowers in Jemimah's wild flower patch. She was bringing in little bouquets nearly every day. The wild flowers brought us all much joy this summer.

The zinnias were my favorite in the mix. I loved the combination of vibrant and soft colors.

I had to snap a few pictures knowing that these would be some of the last fresh flowers we would enjoy until spring.

A sample of how the daily mini bouquets had a tendency to take over the kitchen table.

I hope you have all enjoyed a beautiful October as we have. May you have a blessed week!

"O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." Isaiah 25:1

Homemade Grape Juice

Over the years we enjoyed purchasing locally made grape juice. If you have never tried freshly made grape juice you are truly missing out. : ) The store bought grape juice cannot even begin to compare with the delicious flavor found in fresh grape juice.

We have friends that make grape juice each year. Canning homemade grape juice has been something that my mom and I have wanted to try for many years now. This year we finally purchased a steam juicer so we could make our own grape juice and we are so glad that we did!

We were inspired when a neighbor invited us to pick grapes at his home. Adam and I picked a bushel and were able to produce nearly 14 quarts of grape juice from that bushel using the steam juicer.

We purchased our juicer from a local Mennonite grocery store. We found the steam juicer very easy to use and I am sure we will be making a variety of juices next year.

Adam describes the steam juicer as a triple boiler. You fill the top pan with grapes, the middle pan catches the juice from the top pan and the bottom pan is filled with water to create the steam. The top pan looks like a colander as it is filled with holes. The middle pan looks much like an angel food cake pan as it has a hole in the center which allows the steam to pass through to the top pan. It is quite a clever design and works great.

 Since we had the steam juicer and found that making the grape juice was fairly easy we decided we needed to find a source for more grapes. After looking on-line I found a few different vineyards that offered u-pick grapes. The prices were a lot less than I had expected. We figured that each quart of homemade grape juice cost less than a dollar to make. Plus homemade grape juice is much thicker than store bought, water can be added to home canned grape juice, stretching it even farther. Visiting the vineyard was a real treat! It was truly a beautiful place.

 I am so excited and grateful to have home canned grape juice in the pantry for the winter ahead.

"Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil." Joel 2:23-24

 P.S. The pictures of the grapes and vineyard were taken by Adam. : )

September/October

  This fall has been beautiful. The days have been remarkably warm and summer like. We have been enjoying spending as much time outside as we can, hence my absence from my blog. : ) 

The month of September was lovely! We enjoyed the bounty of our garden, which was our best harvest since living here. Adam's berry bushes really took off this year. In the picture above is just some of the elderberries he collected this fall! We have frozen the berries and look forward to making elderberry pies in the near future. Adam's blackberries, red raspberries and red currants did equally well. We have been enjoying delicious pies and jams with even greater pleasure since the fruit came from our own garden.

 This is just one day of my canning efforts. Like previous years I canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, soups, zucchini, pickles and several jams. If interested in any of the recipes I used, I included links in this post. In addition to canning I froze some baked goods this year. We had such an abundance of zucchini I decided to make a variety of zucchini breads and our favorite zucchini cookies to freeze. Already we have enjoyed baking a few cookies or a mini loaf of zucchini bread on a rainy weekend.

 Last month we celebrated Jemimah's fourth birthday! She is such a sweet little girl and a wonderful friend. We officially began homeschooling last month. Last year we did some Pre-K work with work books I picked up at the store. This year we are using a complete Pre-K curriculum. We are enjoying the curriculum and Jemimah looks forward to school time each morning.

 With the return of cooler weather I have resumed my habit of making a weekly batch of soup. Some may remember one of my favorite recipes that I shared quite a while back, stuffed pepper soup. Recently my mom had the brilliant idea of making cabbage roll soup, in much the same way we made our stuffed pepper soup. It is delicious, and I may like it even better than the stuffed pepper soup!

 For those who may like to try to make some themselves, here is the recipe.

Cabbage Roll Soup

• 1 cup rice (prepare with water amount recommended)* 
• 1 pound ground beef
• 4-5 cups of shredded cabbage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained 
• 1 can (14 ounces) beef broth

Directions:
Prepare rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the shredded cabbage, spaghetti sauce, tomatoes and broth. Simmer until cabbage is fully cooked and tender. Add prepared rice; heat through.
*In my last batch I omitted the rice and added extra cabbage, it was still delicious! 

 Throughout the summer months I did very little knitting or crocheting due to the heat, but I did manage to finally complete my socks in time for the cooler weather. : ) I am so pleased with the finished results! I have begun to knit a pair of socks for Jemimah, and I suspect that they will take a lot less time, considering the size difference.

This week I have enjoyed collecting some of my scrap fabric to create a Dresden plate design for a pillow cover. I made a similar pillow cover last year, and I have wanted to make another for the other rocking chair in our living room.

 Here is a picture of the pillow I made last year, to give you an idea of how the pillow will look when finished. The design is fairly simple to sew together and I love to see so many beloved calico scraps being put to a good use.

 Speaking of fabric.... when we were out the other weekend I discovered that one of my favorite fabric shops was having a sale. I couldn't resist purchasing a couple of my favorites with aprons in mind.

Recently I added a few "autumnal themed" items to my Etsy shop.

 And of course a few new aprons!

 And to close this post I'd like to introduce our kitten Miranda. We adopted Miranda back in June and she is truly a joy! Jemimah loves her dearly, as do Adam and I. We named Miranda after one of my favorite Grace Livingston Hill characters, and she certainly is living up to her namesake's reputation for being mischievous but loving!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding; 

 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

September

It is hard to believe tomorrow is the last day of September! Where did this month go?! It has been quite a while since I last posted here - the summer months just flew by. Summer is always a busy season for us: working in our garden, canning, picnics by the lake, day trips and just enjoying time outside in our yard. 

 I enjoyed canning a variety of foods this summer. There are so many wonderful recipes on-line, I thought I would share a few of the new recipes I tried this year. The two quart jars contain soup, this was my first time canning soup and I am so pleased to have delicious homemade soup in my pantry! The two recipes I made are French Onion Soup and Tomato Vegetable Beef Soup (if you click on them you will be taken to the recipe). I am also hoping to can chicken soup within the next few weeks, which will be nice to have on hand during the cold season. It had been years since I made pickles and this year we had an abundance of cucumbers, so pickles were a must! I made "The Best Dill Pickles", they are delicious, but be forewarned the red pepper flakes do make for a zippy aftertaste. I also made pizza sauce for the first time, I eliminated the red pepper flakes from this recipe. : ) Two of my favorite recipes from last year that I made again are: Zesty Salsa and Spaghetti Sauce. I made a couple of different jams this year, but the unanimous favorite was Vanilla-Rhubarb Jam!

It feels good to look at my pantry and see so many jars ready for the winter ahead. It is always a treat to enjoy a taste of summer throughout those long cold months.

Over the summer months I completed a project that has long sat in my work basket unfinished. I am so please to have this beautiful design complete and ready to frame! This is my second embroidery project from Clementine Patterns. You can see the first one here.

I did make a few changes in the pattern's colors. I love bluebirds and changed the original robin colors to bluebird colors.

As a side story, we put up our first bluebird box this summer. Within two days of having placed the box in our side yard we discovered a bluebird couple had begun a nest! I was so pleased! They had a successful family of four babies. It was truly a blessing this summer. : )

 Another project I completed over the summer months was this doily. I have enjoyed revisiting this handicraft.

Our garden is pretty much done for the season. The pumpkins were a surprise since we never planted them. We think they must have been in our compost from last fall. Due to the rainy season they never did ripen as they should have, but I rather like the unusual color.

Our hens are spending their days scratching through the newly fallen leaves. They are comical at times! Adam says they make him think of a biker gang. They travel as a group at all times and have poor Winston (our cat) terrified of them!

This week I finished reading "Out of The Storm" by Grace Livingston Hill. It was a wonderful story of two brave young people meeting during a ship wreck. As you may know Grace Livingston Hill is one of my favorite authors. While I peeled vegetables to can this summer, I listened to a couple of her books on Librivox, it really made the time fly! I would highly recommend her Marcia Schuyler trilogy! Here are the links to all three: Marcia Schuyler, Phoebe Deane and Miranda. The series takes place in Upstate New York during the mid-1800's. Each story had me on the edge of my seat, I couldn't wait to see what would unfold next.

With the days growing chiller I have resumed my evening knitting. The scarves shown above are so practical and cozy! They are knit from a variety of lovely fibers, including alpaca, wool, cashmere and silk. You can find them in my Esty shop.

I hope you are all enjoying a lovely start of autumn!

"As for God, His way is perfect:
    The Lord’s word is flawless;
    He shields all who take refuge in him."

Psalm 18:30

"Little House" Birthday

Over the past year and a half Jemimah Rose has discovered the charm of Laura Ingalls Wilder's beautiful "Little House" books. One day while shopping at a local Mennonite store I purchased one of the "Little House" picture books for Jemimah. She was immediately captivated.

Last summer while shopping at a quilting store I found some lovely "Little House" fabric designed by Andover. I purchased it with a special plan in mind. In September Jemimah turned two and my gift to her was her own pioneer dress, bonnet and pinafore. The dress and bonnet were both sewn from the "Little House" fabric I had purchased earlier in the year.

I hand embroidered the pinafore yoke and added purple ric-rac to the collar. I noticed while watching the "Little House" T.V. series that they often used ric-rac.

Jemimah was delighted when she opened up her special outfit and new "Little House" picture book! It gave me such joy to see my little darling run about the yard on her birthday wearing the outfit I had sewn. For many years my mom and I have sewn pioneer outfits for little girls all over the world through our business The Scarlet Thread. It was a wonderful feeling to see my own daughter enjoying something I have enjoyed for so many years.

 I have so many grand memories of my mom reading the "Little House" series to my sisters and me by the warmth of the wood stove on a winter day. One year she made all three of us pioneer dresses when we attended a one room school house for a day. We were so excited to prepare our own "pioneer" lunch of homemade bread, cheese, meat and homemade butter. We took great delight in making the butter. Mom had a cassette tape of "Little House" fiddle music. We filled canning jars with cream, a pinch of salt and a clothes pin. We had such fun dancing around the table shaking our jars of cream to the fiddle music.

I am grateful to share and create such sweet memories with my own little girl. And I am so pleased to have a fellow "Little House" fan! : )

"This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16a

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

The past three days have proven to be the coldest and rainiest days we have seen in our area in months.  As I look out my kitchen window all is gray and wet. The beautiful leaves have fallen and are filling our driveway. The hens are tucked away in their cozy coop, although I sense they are not completely pleased with the rain or being kept in. They have all grown to love roaming around the yard! Inside our home all is warm and cheering. A cozy fire blazes in the stove; Adam and Jemimah have enjoyed listing to records on Adam's old phonograph while I bake cookies.

This particular cookie recipe has been a family favorite for many years now. The soft cookie and cinnamon frosting are a terrific combination. The spicy fragrance of cinnamon filling the air makes the dark day cozy. And what could be better than the excitement of my little Jemimah as she saw the cookies baking in the oven? She danced about the kitchen yelling "cookies!" and then enjoyed eating a cookie straight from the oven without frosting.

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies-

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening (I used coconut oil)
1 cup canned pumpkin ( I used fresh pumpkin puree)
1 egg
2 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions: In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in pumpkin and egg. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until firm. Allow to completely cool before frosting.

Cinnamon Frosting-
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 butter softened
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3-4 Tbsp. milk (or enough to achieve desired consistency)

Combine all four ingredients and mix until smooth. Frost cooled cookies.

 And just for fun I am adding a picture I took of our hens earlier this week. While we finished stacking our fire wood for the season, they enjoyed taking dirt baths in my flower bed. Oh well, at least it is the end of the flower season!

I hope you are enjoying a pleasant weekend! Are you baking anything special to keep your home cozy and autumnal?

"This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

First Day of Autumn Sale

To celebrate this first day of autumn I am offering a special sale of 15% off everything in my Etsy shop today through Saturday. To take advantage of the special offer use coupon code LILAC15 when checking out.

                                                                                Happy First Day of Fall!

Pumpkin Patch Blessings

Pumpkin Patch Blessings celebrates fall and shows little ones there are blessings all around us, especially in the pumpkin patch! The sweet rhyming text by Kim Washburn and whimsical illustrations by Jacqueline East bring autumn alive for readers young and old as they take in the fun of the fall season and remember how much they have to be grateful for.

******************************************************************************* 
 Pumpkin Patch Blessings
By: Kim Washburn
Illustrated by: Jacqueline East

 There are so many delightful children's books focused on the seasons of spring and summer, but very few that showcase the beauty of autumn. Fall is such a cozy season and the favorite season of many. This book beautifully captures the essence and excitement of a fall day trip to the pumpkin patch!

The story is written in rhyming verse and takes us along with a little boy and girl as they enjoy the many pleasures of a crisp fall day at the pumpkin patch. The illustrations are charming and sure to capture the imagination of your little one. This book is a board book, which as a mom I truly appreciate! Little hands have a tendency to be a somewhat rough with paper pages, so this is a book I can allow my little girl to enjoy without fear of damage. : )

I am looking forward to baking pumpkin pie and reading this book with my daughter on a cool autumnal day!

Overall I give this book 5 stars and know that I will enjoy sharing it with my little girl throughout the autumn season.


*I received a complimentary copy of "Pumpkin Patch Blessings" from Book Look Blogger in exchange for my honest review*

Last Month

Last month just flew by! Since October tends to be the last month of nice weather where I live, we spent the last month wrapping up outdoor projects, preparing for winter and taking day trips to enjoy the beautiful foliage.

 In the evenings I have been working on my knitting again. Currently I have another heartwarmer for Jemimah in my work basket, as well as two shawls I am knitting for my Etsy shop.

  October is always a very busy month for my mom and I. Many schools study pioneers in the fall and visit one room school houses. We were very busy this fall sewing pioneer outfits, and German outfits for Oktoberfests. I have many fond memories of studying pioneer history when my sisters and I were homeschooled. One fall my mother used the "Little House" study and we made homemade butter and bread to take with us to the one room school house. We had such fun shaking our mason jars of cream and a clothes pin to the "Little House" fiddle music cassette tape. : )

 October is also a great time to bake bread. During the summer months I tend not to bake bread very often, but with the arrival of cooler weather there is something extra cozy about the smell of baking bread. Plus it is great to have a fire in the wood stove for the bread to rise by. Here is a delicious bread recipe I baked last month.

  Lately I have enjoyed trying new recipes I have found on Pinterest, that do not call for white sugar or flour. This recipe has been popular with my family, as we all love bananas and peanut butter.

  In October I also finished up my canning for the year. I made applesauce and apple pie filling. What a lovely treat to enjoy the fragrance of simmering apples and cinnamon! I used this recipe to make my apple pie filling. I liked the fact that the author provided different options for sweetening the filling; I used brown sugar.

My "pantry" is now stocked with my home canned jams, tomatoes, peaches, apple sauce and apple pie filling. I am so grateful for the LORD's blessings on the fruit and vegetable harvests in our area this year!

                                     I hope you all enjoyed a blessed and beautiful October!

"Surely, Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:12